


wake me up when september ends

by azumarheart



Series: The Aftermath [5]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Happy Ending, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Mother-Daughter Relationship, and Joyce being a mother figure, basically El feeling scared about her future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:48:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21610069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azumarheart/pseuds/azumarheart
Summary: It took a few nights for El to finally bring it up.Hopper was hers. And Hopper was home.Hopper was gone and El didn’t know what she was supposed to do.
Relationships: Joyce Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper
Series: The Aftermath [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1499990
Comments: 8
Kudos: 44





	wake me up when september ends

**Author's Note:**

> I love Joyce Byers being a mother figure to El
> 
> Can I rant for a second about child psychology and how that inspired this?
> 
> Children need to have security. They need to know that they are safe. In middle childhood, they need to have a “safe base” in a parental/adult figure. El’s neglect in her childhood already caused issues, but she was getting to a healthy attachment style with Hopper. Having him die, and having that security ripped from her could cause anxiety, insecurity, and the mindset that she can’t rely on her needs being met. She may think in “worst-case-scenario” when it comes to her security.

It took a few nights for El to finally bring it up.

She had been staying at the Byers’ house after the Battle of Starcourt. It hadn’t felt weird, not really, because there was a constant cycle of the Party coming in and out.

Mike, Dustin, and Lucas usually biked over every day, and would sleep over if their parents allowed it. Ms. Henderson was too frightened by the news coverage surrounding Starcourt (although it was all lies), so Dustin didn’t get to stay over often. Steve popped in every once in a while, sometimes with Robin tagging along as well. Nancy took up permanent residence in Jonathan’s room for a week before she finally went home.

It was a quiet night (with only the Byers and El in the house) when El slowly crawled out of bed. There was a pull-out mattress under Will’s bed for sleepovers, upon which she had been sleeping on since the battle.

She waited until Will’s breathing was steady, before she rolled over and gently lowered herself to the carpet. El slowly stood and walked quietly out of the room. She moved down the hall, and into the kitchen.

A single lamp illuminated the living room, and someone had left on the light above the kitchen table. The warm yellow glow cast shadows along the walls, but El wasn’t afraid. She grabbed a cup, and poured herself some water from the sink, before sinking into a chair at the table. Her fingers traced along the swirls on the wood surface as she thought.

Hopper was gone. And Hopper was home. Hopper wasn’t like Papa, but was like the dads in movies and shows. He was like Joyce with Will and Johnathan. He was the adult. He was supposed to take care of things. Take care of her. He was the adult. He knew what to do. He was hers.

She felt her throat choke up as she remembered their last hug together. She thought about the look on Joyce’s face when she came out from the Russian bunker.

Hopper was gone and El didn’t know what she was supposed to do. Was Joyce going to make her leave? Maybe she just felt sorry for El, but would eventually have to kick her out. El needed food and clothes which cost money. The Byers didn’t have lots of money. El probably needed to leave. Maybe she could ask her aunt to stay with her? In the room with the big baby bed and toys? With Mama sitting in her chair, lost inside her head?

Maybe she could go back to Kali? But Kali probably didn’t like her much anymore. Plus, El didn’t like to hurt people. Even if they had hurt her. Kali did though. And she didn’t want to watch Kali hurt anyone else.

She was too big to fit in Mike’s basement unnoticed now. Maybe she could stay in Hopper’s cabin? With all of the memories of when they were happy?

Footsteps slowly padded across the carpet in the silence of the night, and El’s head snapped up. She noticed that she had tears running down her cheeks, but wasn’t able to wipe them away before Joyce came into view. Her hair was messy from sleep, and she seemed bleary eyed. As soon as she spotted El however, her gaze quickly focused.

Joyce stopped in place, and a look slowly came over her face. El didn’t know the word for it, but it made her chest warm and the tears flow harder.

“Oh sweetheart. Come here,” Joyce said quietly. She rounded the table, and pulled up a chair close to El. When she sat, she looped her arms around the younger girl’s shoulders and pulled her in close.

El cried quietly for a few minutes. It felt safe in Joyce’s arms, with the way she rocked side to side slightly, and the way she stroked her fingers through El’s hair.

“What’s wrong honey?” Joyce finally asked.

El pulled away, scrubbing at her face and clearing her throat. She played with the hem of her shirt nervously for a moment, before speaking.

“Do I have to go?” she asked quietly.

Joyce looked at her confused, so El tried to rephrase.

“I mean… will I need to leave? I cost money if I stay. Because I eat and I need clothes and a bed. But I can stay with Mama. Or I can live at the cabin.”

There was silence after she spoke, which made her nervous. Joyce reached out after a moment, and grabbed El’s hand.

“Sweetheart. I need you to believe me when I say this, okay? You don’t ever have to leave. You’re just a kid; you don’t need to rely on yourself. I know Hopper is gone, and that he was the one taking care of you. He gave you a home. But I’m here now. I’m going to protect you and keep you safe. You _never_ have to leave. You don’t need to worry about food or clothes or anything like that. I’m going to take care of you.”

Her words came out strong, in that tone she tended to use when she was trying to firmly reassure Will about things. El felt that tightness in her throat again.

“But you don’t have to,” she responded weakly. Joyce gave her that look again.

“No. I don’t have to. But I want to. I want to keep you safe El. I want to give you a good, happy, and fun life. I want to make sure that you get to be a kid, instead of worrying about all the things you’ve had to deal with before,” explained Joyce.

“But… but why?” El asked. She couldn’t help the insecurity in her voice. She couldn’t understand why Joyce would want to take care of her. El was a lot to deal with.

“Because I love you. Because you’re an amazing, smart, brilliant, talented, kind, funny, loving, and sweet girl. Because you are strong and you protect your friends no matter what. Because you are brave, and you’ve done things that are incredibly scary just to protect others. Because you make Will smile, and you always do your dishes and say thank you and please. And even if you didn’t do all that, I’d still love you. You’re like a daughter to me,” she expressed, tears in her eyes and a smile on her face.

The words made El warm inside, and she rushed forward to hug Joyce. The older woman hugged her back with the same enthusiasm.

“I love you too,” whispered El against Joyce’s chest. She couldn’t see, but Joyce smiled softly, and closed her eyes.

After a few moments, Joyce spoke up again.

“Let’s go to bed now. It’s pretty late. Why don’t you sleep with me tonight?”

El blinked at her, not really understanding what that meant, but nodded anyways. She let Joyce pull her up, hand in hand, and guide her down the hallway to Joyce’s room.

Joyce moved a pillow over to the side of the bed where the blanket wasn’t as messed up, and she slid into the bed. El followed her, but laid stiffly, unsure how to act. Joyce laughed lightly.

“Do you usually sleep on your side?” she asked. El nodded in response.

“Alright; so lay facing away from me,” Joyce directed.

Once El had followed her directions, Joyce moved behind her, and wrapped El in her arms from behind.

“If you’re uncomfortable with this let me know. But I know Will likes to sleep like this sometimes, when he’s scared,” Joyce explained, adjusting her head on the pillow. Once she was settled, she began to run her fingers through El’s hair again.

“It’s... good,” El responded, after a moment. And that was the truth. She felt safe in Joyce’s arms. It was warm. It was like Hopper’s “bear hugs” or the way Mike’s hand felt in hers. She felt cared for.

“We’ll be alright honey. I’ll keep you safe. You’re safe here with me. I love you,” whispered Joyce, with sleepiness seeping into her tone.

El smiled into the darkness, and finally allowed herself to rest: knowing that she was going to be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Idk if this is good. I'm kinda iffy about the ending lol
> 
> Sorry I've not been posting as much :( College is killing me and I'm mentally ill so lol... I'm working on it!  
> I'll have a long Will-centric fic coming at some point. This is fic actually a tiny subplot from that story, but I wanted to write it in more detail lol
> 
> Love you guys as always


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